Kohli gets upset when questioned about frequent changes in XI and record in SA.

Virat Kohli has said what has always been in the Indian team management’s mind and that is about the thumbs-up to the Cape Town pitch even after the Test there ended in three days and why all hell breaks loose in the case of similar length games in India? Well, the India skipper did not just mention it but combated about that point.

“…we are not complaining about Cape Town. The game was finished in three days, one (day) was a washout. So look, we are not complaining about pitches, we are not complaining about conditions. We have come here to play. As I said, we have had equal opportunities to win in both games, and that’s the positive we can take out of it…” the India skipper told a reporter. It was obvious that he was referring to the dust bowls in India which have always evoked world-wide criticism.

But the question here was not on the pitches but about the constant chopping and changing in the Test XI. The query from a local journalist was about 34 different line-ups in 34 Tests as captain. Kohli immediately shot back.

“How many have we won? How many have we won? 21 wins. Two losses. How many draws?” the India skipper said. The anger was unprovoked as the question was very relevant and the debate between Kohli and the reporter was needlessly dragged to a point of irrelevance. It was obvious that the pent-up anger in him found an outlet with that question but Kohli also took pains to explain that he never bothered to worry about the outside opinion.

No regrets

There was a question about the XI for the Test and continued exclusion of Ajinkya Rahane. Kohli replied with a sense of agitation: “Look when something doesn't work, obviously it's going to be spoken against. We are pretty used to that. We as a team don't think of what the opinion going around is, and I've clarified that before also. There are many people that are involved in making a decision for the playing XI. A lot was spoken about Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) as well but (Mohammed) Shami performed in this game. So now no one is talking about that.

“So you know it's all about whoever goes out on the field and performs. We obviously look at the conditions that we are playing in and we decide as a management group and the captain myself sitting together, that what is the best XI that we can take on the field. And then we don't sit back and think 'Oh we could have done that or we should have done that'. You make one decision and you back it. It’s always that scenario.”

The Q and A session

By now the post-match press conference was getting heated and the next question got Kohli into an argument. It went like this….

Q:Was it your best XI?
A: But if we had won this, was this the best XI? Again...It's a pitch that was much more sub-continental... I'm saying that we don't decide XI according to the results.

Q: My question was about the pitch...
A: “But you're saying... you're telling me we could have played the best XI. So you tell me the best XI and we'll play that. I'm saying the loss obviously hurts. But you make one decision and you back it. We certainly don't sit here and say, 'oh if you fail in one game you are not good enough to be at this level or...' Once the team loses. Didn't we lose in India? We had the best XI there. Whoever plays should be good enough to go out there and do the job for the team. That's why we've got such a big squad. Because we believe in their abilities and they are good enough to be at this level but you need to do that collectively as a team. You can't pinpoint and say this is the best XI,” he went on and on.

Kohli, however, did address the issue of soft-dismissals, catch drops and lack of application from the players. “You can accept defeat but not the way we played,” he conceded. “…the way we let the advantage slip out of our hand, that is not acceptable from a team’s point of view. So many soft dismissals in one match hurt a lot. Because you work so hard, you prepare for a match, you get into good situations, shift the game towards you, and then the momentum shifts because of these mistakes. That feels very bad as a team. Individuals have to sit and reflect on these things themselves. They do it, I am not saying they don’t reflect on it, but we have repeated these mistakes in both matches. There have been many soft dismissals, which as a team are not acceptable,” Kohli said in a rare moment of candidness.

It is obvious that Kohli was hurt with the loss of the series but he gave away nothing to indicate that he had regrets about playing wrong XI in the series so far.

Delhi fast bowler Navdeep Saini will join the Indian team as a net bowler ahead of the third Test in Johannesburg. According to sources in the BCCI, a request for the same was made by the Indian team management. The 23-year-old right-arm fast was supposed to be among the ‘extras’ called to bowl at the Indian nets at the start of the series but the he could not join because of his state team’s knockout games in the Ranji Trophy. Anjkit Rajput, Avesh Khan and Basil Thampi had come with the side to bowl at the India players but Saini stayed back as Delhi went on to reach the final.

India's captain Virat Kohli raises his bat as he celebrates scoring half century (50 runs) during the second day of the second Test cricket match between South Africa and India at Supersport cricket ground

Photo by: AFP Read LessIndia's captain Virat Kohli raises his bat as he celebrates scoring half century (50 runs) during the second day of the second Test cricket match between South Africa and India at Supersport cricket ..Read More

Virat Kohli, right, makes a run after a delivery from South Africa's bowler Lungi Ngidi, during the third day of the second cricket Test match between South Africa and India at Centurion Park in Pretoria

Photo by: AP Read LessVirat Kohli, right, makes a run after a delivery from South Africa's bowler Lungi Ngidi, during the third day of the second cricket Test match between South Africa and India at Centurion Park in Pret..Read More

Virat plays a bouncer from South Africa's bowler Kagiso Rabada, during the third day of the second cricket test match between South Africa and India at Centurion Park in Pretoria, South Africa.

Photo by: AP Read LessVirat plays a bouncer from South Africa's bowler Kagiso Rabada, during the third day of the second cricket test match between South Africa and India at Centurion Park in Pretoria, South Africa...Read More

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